Feeding mechanism for bottle-stoppers.



T. A. NISSINEN & C. HARTWIG. FEEDING MECHANISM POR BOTTLE STOPPERS.APPLICATION FILED 11113.10, 1912.

T. A. NISSINEN 6: G. HISIRTWIG. FBEDING MBGHANISM POR BOTTLE STOPPERS.APPLICATION FILED IBB. 1o, 1912.'

I,@94,163 Patented A131121, 1914,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.UNiTED *STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ToIMI A. NIssINEN AND CHARLES HAETWIG, or NEW Yoan, N. Y., AssIGNoBs ToFREDERICK G. zINssEE, or HAsTINos-UPoN-Hunson, NEW Yoan FEDINGMECHAN'ISM FOR BOTVIJE-STOYPEBS.

vSpecification of I .etters Patent.-

Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itkno'wn that we, ToiMI A. NissiNEN and CHARLES HABTWIG, subjects,respectively, ofthe Czar of Russia and the Emperor of Germany, saidNissINEN being a legal resident of Helsingfors, Finland, Russia, but nowresiding at the city of New York, borough of Bronx, and said HARTWIGresiding at the cit-y of New York, borough of .Manhattan, State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in FeedingMechanism for Bottle-Stoppers and the like, of which the following is aIfull, clear, and exact description.

Another object of our invention is to provide means whereby allpossibility of interference between successive caps, when one of theseis. being applied toa bottle, is eliminated.

Yet another object of our invention is to do away with the possiblehandling of the caps by the, in many instances, unclean hands oftheoperatives.

Still another object of our invention is to provide means in connectionwith the feed chute, whereby said chute .may not become choked orclogged, owing to the pressure of an excessive number of stoppers in thesame.

These and other objects of our invention will be hereinafter referred toandthe 'novel elements and combinations of -elements whereby the samemay be attained will be more particularly set forth in the claimsappended hereto.

In the drawings which form a part hereof A and in which like referencecharacters designate like parts throughout the several views, we haveexemplified a preferred embodiment of our invention; but it will beunderstood thatmany modifications and changes may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit of the invention, and we hence desireto be limited only by the scope of the appended claims. y f l Referringto the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of acapping-machine with our feeding mechanism applied thereto. Fig. 2 is aplan of the same. Fig. 3 1s a section of the feeding 'mechanism incombination with a ca ping head, the section being taken on lineIII--III of Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a detail section of the same taken onlinevIV-IV of Fig. 3.A Fig. 5 is a'stipplemental detail section of aportion of the device shown in Fig. -3 certain of the parts being,however, in different positions. Fig. v6 is a detail of the capseparating construction..

The apparatus` herein more particularly shown is intended to be usablein connection witha number of different types of bottle capping machineswhich are now commonly in use. Where changes are necessary before thefeedin mechanism can be applied to such a Inac ine to which it isotherwise not perfectly adapted, such changes will', in most instances,involve' merely the use of ordinary mechanical skill.

In Fig. 1 wel have shown al portion of the standard 1 of a typicalcapping machine, a lug 2 projecting from one side of this standard, intowhich is threaded the stem 3 of a bottle supporting table 4.- This tablemay be provided, of course, with the usual resilient pad 5. Reciprocablymounted in the standard 1 is the usual upri ht shaft 6 which carries acapping head 7. n this particular instance the capping; headis adaptedfor usein connection wit a novel stopper which we have devised,- butwhich will not be\here in described, since it fo'rmsno part of the nated7, comprises a casting 8, or the like, preferably of brass, which haslaterally pro- )acting therefrom an extension or arm 9, the outerextremityof which isenlarged as at ,10, in the usual fashion, to adaptit for the reception of the extremity of the shaft 6. The part 10 isclamped upon this upper extremity ofthe shaft in the usual manner bymeans of a nut 1v1, or the like. The head is present invention.v AThehead, broadly desigpreferably hollow and is adapted toreceive cessed asat for the reception of the lower portion of the throat 12 and the blockis further provided wit-h a laterally opening passage 16, through whichthe caps 17 may be delivered to the cap supporting ledge 18 -disposedsubstantially intermediate the recesses 14 and 15. In so far as theprovision of blocks of this type, adapted to' retain a capping throat inposit-ion and provided with a feed passage, is concerned, there isnothing particularly novel in what has just been described, but it hasbeen customary to either rotate this entire block for the p'urpose ofsecuring the same by a threaded connection to the bottom of fa cappinghead, or to provide some form of' nut in connection therewith, adaptedfor this purpose. Where the nut has been separately provided, it has tothe best. of our knowledge always been more or less loosely connected tothe guide block, so that in use it is apt to become separated therefrom,as by being unserewed, and thereby is frequently lost or mislaid.Furthermore, the operatives for mechanisms of this character are notalways high class mechanics and are apt therefore to inadvertentlyinjure portions of the mechanism to which they may gain access, ifnothing Worse; burring up threads, and the like. It is disadvantageousto form the nut and the guide block in one piece, in the mannerpreviously referred to, owing to the fact that the cap feed passage inthe block must be alined with the chute or the like through which thecaps are delivered. We have overcome these diiculties and objectionablecharacteristics by providing a freely revoluble nut in connection withthe guide block, which, moreover, is inseparable' therefrom. Referringmore particularly toFig. 3, the nut 19 therein shown is adapted forthreaded engagement with the lower extremity 20 of the casing or casting8. It is further interiorly grooved as at 21 in the lower portionthereof; groove 21 being disposed in the annular wall of a recess intowhichv the upper extremity of the guide block 13 extends. The exteriorwall of this guide block is correspondingly recessed or grooved as at22, the grooves 21 and 22 preferably exactly coinciding with each otherwhen the parts are in assembledv relationship. The groove 22 is made ofsufficient depth to receive a resilient expansion ring 23, so that theupmemes place therein may be pushed up into the ring 19, ,and when thegrooves come into coincidence with each other the ring 23 will snapoutwardly into `the groove 21, substantially half of the ring being thenin the last mentioned groove, and half in the groove 22.

This construction renders it substantially impossible to separate themembers 19 and 13 when they have once been assembled, while at the sametime the ring or nut 19 is perfectly free to revolve with respect to theguide block 13. This permits the block to be drawn up firmly agalnst thelower end of the casing 8, with the passage 16 so directed as to be inaiinement with the channel 24, which extends through the channel frame25. This latter depends from a slide box, 26, being secured thereto inany suitable manner, as by means of screws 27. The channel may becovered by an arcuate plate 28, which latter preferably has apertures 29therein to afford access to the interior' of the channel and to Tpermitinspection of the same without removal of said cover plate. The member26 is secured by means ofa bolt 28 or the like to a bracket 30, whichlatter is mounted upon the upper extremity of the shaft 6; preferably,immediately below the part 10 of the head. Bracket 30 is so constructedthat it may readily be removed from shaft 6 when desired; and -to thisend is held in position thereon by means of a cap 31 and bolts 32, orthe like. The slide-box 26 is recessed substantially as shown in Fig. 3for the reception of a slide 32; and further to forni a passage-waythrough which a cap urged laterally by means of this slide,

in the manner hereinafter described, may pass down into the channel 24.To afford access to this portion of the mechanism, the slide-box 26 maybe provided with a separable cover plate 33, which may be secured to itin any suit-able manner, as by means of screws 34. Upwardly projectingfrom the cover plate 33 is la tubular structure 35, the hollow interiorof which is in communication with the slide-way in the cross-member 26.The cylindrical aperture in the interior of the part 35 is preferablycountersunk as at 36 for the reception of the extremity of a tube 37.This tube may be of paper, sheet metal, or any other suitable material,and is adapted to contain the Stoppers 17 which are delivered to thecapping throat. In practice we contemplate providing a tube ofsuiiicicnt length to contain, let us say, one gross of Stoppers. Thetubular part 36 is provided with a projection 38 upon one side thereof,from which-project ears 39, and a bell-lever 40 is pivotally mountedbetween these ears, as upon a pin 41. The longer arm of this leverextends downwardly toward and into engagement with the rearY extremityof the per extremity of the block with the ring in shall always beuppermost.

' swung slide 32, which in -this instance is recessed for the receptionof the rounded nose or end 42 which constitutes the lower extremity ofthis arm. The short arm of the bell-lever is -laterally directed towardthe spindle 43 which projects upwardly from the plunger 44 within thecapping head, said short arm preferably having the extremity 45 thereofsomewhat hooked to adapt it for engagement with the iange 46 of a nut47, which is adjustably mounted upon the upper extremity of the spindle43. The plunger 44 may be provided with a collar 48 which is prefera lyintegral therewith, whereby its downward movement may be limited; collar48 engaging an annular rib or ledge 49 within the casing 1 when in itsdownward Y position. Of course, the weight ofthe plunger willnormallytend to hold it thus; but we prefer to provide a spring 50,preferably helical in character, around the stem or spindle 43, thelower extremit of this spring engaging the collar 48 and t e up erextremity bearing againstv a plug 5l, which is screwed into the upperend of the head. The plunger 44 is hence guided in its movements by therib 49 and the-plug 5l through which the stem 43 projects. We are awarethat it is old to provide lsprings in the interior of acapping head forthe purpose of normally holding the plunger therein in its downmost oroutermost position; but the spr-ing 50 has an additional function, inthat it co-acts with' a portion of the stopper feed mechanism 1nthlsembodiment of our invention. The slide 32 is preferably made ofsubstantially the same thickness as the cap A, 17, and in the mechanismshown the upper ortion of this slide is dattened to form "a ta le orsupport for the cap 17 immediately thereabove, when the parts aredisposed asshowir in c v,llt wlll'be noted also thatfthe ca 17, w

bears against slide 32 is invert I; andv it is our intention that all ofthefeapswithin the tube 37 shall be directedl the same way, so that, inat least the herein more particularly described mechanism, the capflanges after cap is removed from the bottom of the column of capsthrough the instrumentality of the slide 32 in the manner presently tobe described, the caps will normally always present themselves to thisslide with their danges uppermost. The slide 32 isA maintained in itscolumn supporting position,

t. e. that shown in Fig. 3, by the action of the spring 50 vpreviouslyreferred to; since the nut 47 is inltially screwed downwardly whenY theplunger is in its lowermost position until the lon er arm of the lever40 has been lly to the right, as viewed in said figure, thereby pushingthe slide beneath the cavity inthe member 36.` The slide 32, how- Thusas cap ever, is pressed toward 'its left hand position through theinstrumentality of a spring 52. This spring may be a bowed flat spring,as shown, having a tendency to straighten itself out, and by reason ofthis action, tending to elevate the short arm of the bell-lever.

In the lower portion of the structure shown in Fig. 3,' is a linger53,which is pivoted upon a short shaft or spindle 54, the extremity ofthe finger being movable through a slot in the under side of the lowerextremity `of the channel 25. The function .of this Jlinger is asfollows: It is evident that if but a single stopper be positionedin thelower end of the channel 24, such stopper would have practically notendency to continue its movement around laterally Ninto aposition whereit could properly be engaged by the head of a bottle. It is, therefore,desirable that a lurality of stoppers be disposed in saidci elfort toproperly posit-ion the foremost cap in the manner' above' described.This provision of a channel for sto pers in connection with aguide-block or te like, is, as we Vhave previously indicated, old.Considerable ditliculty, however,` has .been encountered in practiceowing to the fact that a sufficient clearance in the channel andstopper-passage must be provided to allow the stoppers or caps to movefreely through said passages or channels. As the met-al of which thestopper is formed is usually quite light, there is a 'strong tendencyfor the flanges of adjacent Stoppers to overlap, and if, for example,the cap'behind that shown directly beneath the plunger 44 should sooverlap said last mentioned cap, one or possibly both of these capswould be deformed whenthe first cap was applied to a bottle- Thev linger53 provides a means for positively withdrawing the second ca out ofcontact with irst,yafter the first lies been properly positioned. Thisaction will be ereinafter more full discussed in connecannel, in orderthat gravity may exert suiiicient lateralV tion with the operation ofthe mechanism as a whole. The spindle 54 upon which said finger ismounted, is adapted to be rotated by means of a pinion 56, which isdisposed "upon the farther extremity of said spindle, -as-view'ed inFig. 3, and upon the near exthe slide-box 26. Adjacent the upperextremity-of this rod, and secured thereon in any suitable manner, is acollar 61, against which bears a coil spring 62, the lower extremity ofwhich pressesjagainst the plate'` 60. The rod 59 is hen-'ce normallyAheldin its uppermost position through ,theactionfof this spring 62.Adjacent the lower eXtremity of the rod, however, and immediatelyv abovetherack 57, fis a ylinger piece 63 which is rigidly secured to said rodin any suitable manner, and' the? extremity of this finger piece isintendedigtov be positioned directly beneath one of` the` vguiding ears64-64",\

v the-latter hasbeen carried upwardlyby the *head to its uppermost`position. It is obvious, however,` ofcoursethat any suitable ingerengaging means b.may be utilized in lieu-fof the ear 64, `andjwe do notwishY to be limited thereto, it being merely incorporated as a part oftheffeed'mechanism in apreferred construction. -1

been urgedy upwardly into engagement with the lug 64,l while in fact thehead has moved slightly farther upwardly. This action will lcompressthespring-621 and the rod 59 will be depressed with respect to the head;The spindle 54 will, throughthe action of the pinion 56 and rack 57 berotated counter' clockwise as viewed in Fig. 3, which will swing thenger 53 around through the slot 55 inthe channel 25,v so that it nolonger projects up into the channel. This permits the Stoppers to freelydescend through channel 25 and the `foremost of them will be urgedlaterally until it is directly disposed beneath plunger 44. If now thetable 4 has been properly adjusted, in` theusual manner, and a bottlehas been placed thereon preparatory to capping same, and the head 7 iscaused to descend'in 1a known manner, the first action oftligeiffeedmechanism proper will be a relative'movement between the rod 59 and thedesoendinghead; this action being due t'o the spring62; `This results inan upward rot-ation of the finger 53,

the extremity thereof swinging-around into' the channel, and therebyengaging the stopper behind that directly beneath-ij'theI` 1unger. Thecontinued movement ofthe "ger 53 positively pulls this stoppen..together ,rhe loperation'of our novel mechanism isf; as follows:Assuming that the shaft 6 is in vits uppermostpositioni andthat therebythe y' head 7,bracket 30 :and attached. parts arer `correspondinglypositioned. In such case the vfinger piece 63 upon `the rod 59 willhave1 fof the bell-lever,

with the limited number of the same therebehind which are disposed inthe channel,

vbackwardly and upwardly away from the -cap which is to be applied tothe bottle;

and thereafter the spring 62 will hold the capsin channel 24 againstdownward movement until the rod 59 has again been depressed by theengagement of the finger piece 63 and lug 64, which latter action willnot occur until the head is substantially aain in its uppermostposition. By no possi llity therefore at any time can a second capinterfere with the rst when the latter is being applied to its bottle.Considering now that'the head'of the bottle has entered the conicalguide-way 14 in the usual man ner and that the cap 17 thereabove hasbeen positioned rmly uponthe bottle head through the instrumentality ofthe plunger 44. Thereafter the continued downward movement ofthe headwill force t-he cap into the throat 12 in the usual manner, and the cap1iange will be wiped or otherwise moved downwardly ,and around5 intoengagement with the bead at the head of the bottle. While this operationis taking place, considerable relative vmovement is occurring betweenthe plunger 44and its casing 8. a result, relative movement also occurs.between the nut 47 and the pivot pin 41 ,abo`ve referred to, againbrin'gs the flange 46 of the nut 47 into engagement with the hook 45 ofbell-lever 40. Thereafter the continued relative downward movement ofthe plunger with respect to said pivotal pin compresses'spring 52 andswings the slide 32 back into its position beneath the column of caps,sweeping the `cap which has previously fallen in front of the slidelaterally with respect to said column, the ca falling down varound andinto the channe 24. It will be 'observed that this substantially effectsa" reversal of the cap, for whereas in the vtube the shive holding faceor side of each" of the caps was uppermost, in the *lower portion oft-he channel the shives and l Y the nut 47 in this particu- 196Ilar'form of the device, being practically stat1onary, while said pivotpin continues to' descend. The result of this movement is to `enable thespring 52 to rotate the bell-lever 40'about its pivotal axis, and Swingthe eli-l Y tremity 42 of its longer arm into th'eposition in which itis shown in Fig.' 5. The column vof caps inthe tube 37 and member 35descend under the act-ion of gravity a distance their surrounding,lia-nges are now down-A wardly faced to adapt them for engagement withthe bottle head. Thus every time that a stopper or cap is removed fromthe chute by being applied to a bottle, a new cap is introduced into thetop of the chute, and, hence, but few Stoppers need be `disposed at anyoney time within the channel, the number preferably being only suchfastoinsure `a proper feed into the guide block.` As a result of thisarrangement there is no tenden cy for the capsto jam in the guide-way;as is the case where an extended column of caps is disposed therein. Ifbyany chance one or more caps in a tube 37 should 'be reversedorimpro-perly positioned so that its flange is lowermost, such stopper`or'cap will v not be delivered to the channel 24, because two shortguard pins 66, or the like, are placed one upon either side of thesloping entrance to the channel, which pins will permit a cap, ifroperly positioned, to pass therebetween, t e flange of the cap passinover the pins. Said pins will, howeve're fectually stop any capotherwise disposed. Immediately above the upper extremity of the channel24 is an aperture 67, preferably' in the cover plate 33 of thecross-member 26,

whereby Stoppers or caps may be separately introduced into saidVchannel, lfif desired. Here again, the shape of the a erture 67 is suchthat the Stoppers may on y be fed in when properly positioned.

lin order vto be able to romptly remo-vel any cap which has beenelivered through the tubular member` 36 imprperly faced or directed, weprovide openings 68 upon either side of the member-26, -which 'open intothe slide-way therein so that any suitable flat implement may beinserted from one Side of the device through oneof said holes orapertures 68, whereby the improperly faced, or possibly deformed, `capmay be ejected through the other and corresponding opening 68. Thefact'that the slide 32 yieldingly urges the stoppers toward the pathwayis of considerable importance, in that it prevents the mutilation ordeformation of the caps when they chance toy beim roperly facedordirected in the manner a ove described; spring 52 of course beingmerely strong enough to dis lace a cap and not to defoim the same. epreferabl rovide a slot 69 upon one'side of the tuiiulhr member 36, sothat when the tube 37 is inserted thereinto the Stoppers maybe held by'the nger of the operator against inadvertentv reversal, until thebottom-most Stoppers have been allowed to 'enter well into the saidtubular member; the short distance through which they may then fall, andes ciall when a column of Stoppers is there ehin -not affording anopportunity to said lowermost Stoppers to rotate or flip over. v

i means for moving necessity for the'fiiigers of the .operator tocomeinte contact Awith the cork shives of @the Steppers, at'any 'Y time. Weregard the provision of means, ag., the finger 53, for withdrawing thesucceeding' stopper out of engagement with that about to be applied to,a bottle as of particularly great importance, while the desirability ofmaintaininfr but a very short column of Stoppers place edge to edgeshould not be overlooked. The

initial .cylindraceous arrangement of the caps in the tube, or the like,from which they are fed to the chute is also advantageous in thatvthereby the sizeof a column containing, let us say, a gross of caps isnot unduly extended as would be the case if such caps were disposed edgeto edge rather than face to face, 'so to speak.

Having described our invention, we claim: l. A feeding and cappingmechanism for l bottle Stoppers and-the like which'comprises a cappinghead having cap applying parts therein, a member stationary with respectto said head and containing a channel for conveying caps to a definiteposition with respect to said cap applying parts', and means for movingya succeeding cap along said channel and away from a cap which has beenoperatively positioned with iespectto said cap applying parts, wherebyto prevent' possible mutilation of one of said caps when the operativelypositioned cap is applied to a receptacle.

2. A feeding and capping mechanism for bottle Stoppers and the likewhich comprises a capping head having cap applying parts therein, amember stationary with respect to said head and containinga channel forconveying caps toa definite position vwith respect to said cap applyingparts and means for moving a succeeding cap along said channel and awayfrom a cap which has been operatively positioned ywith respect to saidcap .applying parts', said means includ-1 ing a movable part adapted forengagement with said succeedingl'cap.

3. A feedingand capping mechanismgfor bottle Stoppers and the like whichcomprises a capping head having vcap applying parts therein, a memberstationary with respect to said head and containin a channel forvconveying caps to a' de nite position Ywith respect to4 said 'capapplying parts, and with respect to said cap applying parts, 'and asuccee alon ing cap said channel and away from -a ca'p whic has beenoperatively positioned with respect to Said cap applying parts, ysaidmeans in* cluding a movable finger adapted for engagement with saidsucceeding cap and mechanism for moving said nger.

4. In a bottle capping machine, the com-` bination with a, capping head,of a chute fixed with respect to sai head and adapted to feed capsthereto, and a device adapted `10 to engage a cap in the chute and moveit away from the capping head While another cap is being applied to abottle.

In Witness whereof, We subscribe our signatures, 'in the presence of twoWitnesses.

Witnesses WALDo M. CHAPIN, WILLIAM C. LARY.

